Social media platforms enable plastic surgeons to interact with a wide audience, including other providers, trainees, and patients. Plastic surgeons, in particular, can benefit from visual-based platforms and are frontrunners among physicians in the adoption of social media.¹ Some plastic surgeons are even recognized as social media influencers. Influencers are content producers with established credibility in a specific field and a large enough following to “influence” public perception. As influencers, plastic surgeons can improve patient knowledge and affect health-related behaviors.² Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have been shown to be influential in plastic surgery patient populations.^1,3 However, the literature lacks evaluation of plastic surgery content in TikTok (ByteDance, Beijing, People’s Republic of China), the most downloaded mobile application on Android smartphones and iPhones in 2020.⁴

TikTok is a feed-based, video-sharing social media platform that has increased in popularity since its 2017 release. As of August of 2020, there are over 100 million monthly active users in the United States alone.⁴ Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok’s algorithm creates a video feed of user-generated content that is agnostic to followership, thereby allowing videos to reach a broader audience. TikTok is more community-oriented than other social media platforms. It is not geared toward marketing, and sponsored content is less prevalent. The application offers creators (e.g., plastic surgeons) tools to create videos responding directly to questions, comments, and videos from other users (e.g., patients). Engaging with patients in real time on the platform allows plastic surgeons to promote evidence-based medicine, correct misinformation, and ease patient anxiety.

To understand how plastic surgery influencers are using TikTok, we conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the most influential plastic surgeons on the platform. These plastic surgeons were identified using the number of followers on February 19th, 2021. Their five most recent posts were categorized as “educational,” if a condition or procedure was explained, “advertisement,” for any sponsored content, and “personal,” if the content was unrelated to plastic surgery. In addition, the anatomical location of the procedure or condition exhibited was identified along with the patient’s sex when determinable. Usage of unique TikTok features was also documented.

The results are displayed inTable 1. One female influencer ranked among the top 10. The influencers had, on average, 13 years of practice and all were American Board of Plastic Surgery–certified, except for those based outside the United States. Most plastic surgeons (90 percent) responded to patient comments with videos using TikTok’s functionality. Among the most recent posts, 76 percent were educational, 20 percent were personal, and 4 percent were advertisements. The most-liked post (496,600 likes) depicted a male patient undergoing an aesthetic abdominoplasty and the postoperative results.

Patients utilize social media to learn more about plastic surgery, and much of that is aesthetic surgery.² Board-certified plastic surgeons have the opportunity (and obligation) to be leaders in this domain. We can rectify misinformation from providers with lesser training and credentialling, and offer educational content catered to patient needs, supporting the quality and safety of our practice.³ Improving the presence of educational content and perspectives from board-certified plastic surgeons on TikTok may improve patient experiences in plastic surgery.

REFERENCES

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